skymiler

Not sure what you mean about option 4. CSX doesn't run through or anywhere near Rock hill.

To answer your question about a new yard in Monroe/Marshville for switching....like the one in Rocky Mount. No, it wouldn't make since to do this to reduce the log jams in Monroe. Hamlet, the largest CSX rail yard in NC is just to the east of Marshville. A yard like Rocky Mount or Hamlet isn't build to eliminate log jams, they're built to switch/build trains. Hamlet for CSX is much like a major airline hub is for airlines. CSX has 10 of these across their network. Monroe needs a turnout from the Charlotte Sub to the Monroe Sub (southbound) to help reduce some of the log jams. In addition to that a bypass around Monroe Yard allowing trains from the Charlotte Sub destined for Hamlet would also be helpful. None of these options are cheap and I don't forsee anything happening anytime soon. With the federal mandate of Positive Train Contol, the railroad has to be really smart about building projects of this size. This more than the 2009 recession plays a big role in past plans. That's why the Pinoca Yard Ramp expansion project was done. It was a lot cheaper.

Very aware of how things work in Monroe. Worked there for several years coming out of Charlotte and Hamlet. Have also worked on the Florence Division in the past as a manager. Everything you mentioned above still doesn't justify the cost it would take to build a more efficient route to Atlanta. With PTC coming and the big bill that's following it you will see a lot of changes. A new yard in Marshville? No way, not any time in your career. With the intermodal terminal recently expanded in Charlotte, CSX would not invest that kind of capital 40 miles down the road.

Not really.....As I'm sure you know, CSX doesn't run that many trains a day from Charlotte to Atlanta via Monroe. The cost of buying land and placing rail to put a turnout in from the Charlotte Sub to the Monroe sub (southbound) for a couple of trains a day doesn't even come close to being justified.

Does Asian traffic using the newly widened Panama Canal coming to southern ports just to go back to the west coast make sense? Time wise, no. I think there will be a bump in traffic but most likely nothing like what people are predicting. The advantage to using the Panama Canal from Asia is to get the east coast containers to the east coast quicker. With the west coast ports at capacity this keeps the east coast traffic flowing better. I don't see the NS Gateway in Memphis being a player with this. Most likely, with the reduction of east coast goods coming into west coast ports, this frees up space for west coast goods there and eliminates the need for that traffic to use the Panama Canal. It still doesn't make much sense for containers out of the ports of Charleston or Savannah to come to Charlotte via rail. They will most likely be broken up in Charlotte and switched to different trains/routes once in Charlotte. I see most being done by truck from the ports into Charlotte and Atlanta, then placed on rail out of Charlotte and Atlanta. CSX has intermodal yards in both cities and this is their model.

The problem with this is there's no guarantee that the Panama Canal expansion will bring more traffic to east coast ports. CSX too is investing heavily in intermodal and has been doing so for the last several years. Look up the new state of the art intermodal facility built in NW Ohio. This was done to get around the congestion in Chicago. CSX has a program called the National Gateway. It's all centered around Intermodal traffic. Both railroads have suffered with domesti coal regulations.

CSX moves most of the UPS rail shipments on East coast. NS is not a big player with UPS. Regarding intermodal moves via rail from airport, moves from Charlotte to Charleston and Savannah are considered short haul. This is not good revenue business for railroads. Most intermodal movements for rail need to travel 500+ miles to make sense. Most likely these short haul moves would be made by truck.

Agreed. I travel through ATL a lot. To be so big, it's very easy to navigate and get from one end to another very quickly.

You are correct about the Yardmaster Tower. It's been there since the yard was built back in the 70's. Davis Yard is bigger than Pinoca, but a lot of the tracks there are out of service. There's still quite a bit of traffic that comes into the yard, so no it's not empty. It may appear that way because the yard use to support 5 main lines in and out of the area and now a lot of those tracks are not needed. Now it only has the one to Hamlet. Regarding the yardmasters use of the tower. They were moved out of the tower years ago because the trainmaster made it his office. Now the tower is really in bad shape and therefore not used anymore. CSX has gone away from using a lot of these towers now because of technology. With cameras everywhere there's really no need for them anymore. Hamlet's Yard B tower has been vacant for several years. That yard is definitely not empty.

CSX is not interested in running passenger service on its right of way. There's no money in it for the Class 1 RR's. Passenger service gets in the way of the revenue service (freight). The only reason Amtrack runs over these rails now is because of prior rights/agreements with the goverment.

CSX did not build any new yard or expand the existing yard (Davis Yard which is actually in Leland) in Wilmington.